MIFIRA Framework Lecture 8 Market mapping Chris Barrett and Erin Lentz February 2012
Marketshed Mapping A plotted map (e.g., a simple road map) can identify surplus areas, infrastructural constraints, and weak market functioning. Identify: –Seasonal effects –Major marketing hubs; import / export centers –Estimates of wholesalers and retailers Incorporate as information becomes available: –Trade routes –Storage depots –Infrastructural damage or weakness 2
Why does seasonality matter?: FEWs Seasonal Calendar for Maize in Tanzania 3 Source: FEWS-NET 2008.
Seasonality of prices: FEWS Average Maize Prices in Maputo, Mozambique 4 Source: FEWS-NET 2008.
Guiding topics for a seasonal calendar 5 Major weather patterns Production cycles of the major consumption crops, and the major cash crop or livestock growth cycle, if relevant Lean periods / hungry seasons Major regular shocks Seasonal market activity Procurement or distribution activity Regular ceremonies or holidays Others as appropriate
FEWS Seasonal Calendar for Maize in Mozambique 6 Source: FEWS-NET 2008.
Generate a market map 7 Identify appropriate map (could be hand-drawn) Assess whether seasonality affects markets, consumer access, trader access, local prices and availability Discuss with key informants about market hubs, ancillary markets, local storage facilities, trade routes, any infrastructural damage, etc. For prospective LRP markets, consider trade routes, supply estimates, etc.
Map of maize production and trade flows 8 Source: Awuor (2007), Review of Trade and Markets Relevant to Food Security in the Greater Horn of Africa
Market Maps in Real Time 9 Market Maps can be simple Layer onto existing maps Focus on issues of local importance
Seasonal flow reversal 10 Prices in rural areas may be more variable than prices in urban areas –Traders from urban areas purchase harvests and evacuate them to urban areas for storage –During lean seasons, traders then move these products back to the outlying production areas, incurring transactions costs in both directions